September 10, 2012 11:41pm EDTSeptember 10, 2012 10:53pm EDTLonger games, less consistency and a few puzzling moments bring replacements referees to the forefront. Still, if not for some major gaffes in high-profile matchups, officiating would be less of a topic after Week 1.

Unfortunately, their uneven performance in FOX's highly-rated marquee game — the San Francisco 49ers' 30-22 win over the Green Bay Packers in Lambeau Field — got plenty of attention.

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As is the case with the regular officials as well, it was the penalties, or in some cases, the lack thereof, that drew the most scrutiny. The 49ers were penalized 8 times for 66 yards, while the Packers were penalized 10 times for 77 yards.

Overall, the replacements in that game graded out poorly, and FOX's play-by-play duo of Joe Buck and Troy Aikman conveyed that to the viewers. They were backed by FOX rules analyst Mike Pereira, the NFL's former vice president of officiating.

"Here's what I think of the officiating in Green Bay/San Francisco for first half: Not too strong... at this point," Pereira wrote on Twitter Sunday.

"What can I say about the officiating in this SF-GB game? I agree with Troy and Joe," Pereira continued. "I understand why BOTH sides are frustrated in this game. #GreenBay #SanFrancisco"

Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and his teammates were more diplomatic about their frustration — and their public post-game comments reflected that they weren't pointing to the officials as their reason for defeat in a hardfought game against a top NFC opponent.

“I think there were calls on both sides that were interesting," Rodgers said. "A couple of the plays were either no calls that should have been calls or not the correct call.”

While there was questioning of the replacement officials in Green Bay, they made their biggest mistake of the day during the Seattle Seahawks-Arizona Cardinals game that also was played in the late afternoon.

With 30 seconds left in the game and trailing by four points, the Seahawks were awarded a timeout when they didn't have one. They should have been charged a third and final timeout when wide receiver Doug Balwin had to come out with an injury with fewer than two minutes left in regulation.

The crew dodged more heat, however, when the Cardinals stopped Seattle on its last-gasp drive inside the 10 to preserve what should have been a slightly less taxing 20-16 victory. Referee Bruce Hermansen owned up to the mistake with a statement.

"It was my error," Hermansen said. "We gave them (the Seahawks) the additional timeout because of the incomplete pass stopping the clock before the injury occurred. When in effect, the clock has no bearing on the play at all, whether it's stopped or running, we should not have given them the additional timeout."

The other notable replacement referee snafu came in the Sunday night game, when the Denver Broncos beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-19. When the Broncos scored on an interception return touchdown with 1:58 left, the officials incorrectly called for the two-minute warning before the Broncos had the chance to attempt the subsequent two-point conversion.

In the end the 49ers, Cardinals and Broncos all deserved to win their games, and no team that should have won on Sunday lost because of officiating.

The games were longer and not as crisply and consistently called, that's where the league should be most concerned. But until there's a truly costly mistake, the NFL will continue to hold its ground in the labor standoff with the league's regular, significantly higher-paid officials.